This archive report was first published on 1 July 2020.
Kenya's economy showed a positive trend in the first quarter of 2020, with the value of domestic exports rising by 5.3% to Sh144.9 billion compared to Sh137.6 billion in the same quarter of 2019.
According to a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the increase in domestic exports was largely due to the rise in some leading export commodities, including tea by 8.8%, titanium ores and concentrates by 75.4%, essential oils by 31.4%, and edible products and preparations by 39.3%.
On the other hand, domestic exports of horticulture and coffee declined by 4.1% and 10.2%, respectively.
During the quarter, domestic exports of Food and Beverages by Broad Economic Category classification rose by 6.9% compared to the same quarter of 2019 and accounted for 44.8% of the domestic exports.
KNBS attributed this to a 6.6% increase in exports of primary food and beverages for household consumption.
Similarly, domestic exports of non-food industrial supplies rose by 10.5% in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2019, mainly driven by increased export of primary industrial supplies (non-food).
On the import side, the import bill rose from Sh424.5 billion in the first quarter of 2019 to Sh426.4 billion in the first quarter of 2020.
During the quarter under review, imports of industrial machinery, petroleum products, and road motor vehicles went up by 24.0%, 12.1%, and 16.9%, respectively, compared to the same quarter of 2019, and jointly accounted for 32.8% of the total imports.
Further, an increase in the volumes of imported animal and vegetable oils and medicinal and pharmaceutical products resulted in increased expenditure on these items by 52.2% and 18.8%, respectively.
